Crowd funding for our pleasure

Mandy Nolan

Local educator, comedian, and founder of the Yoniversity, Laura-Doe is creating a movie The Art & Science of Female Arousal.

Presenting in an entertaining and accessible teen-friendly format, this 75 minutes of film is jam packed with fascinating information about the female body’s elegant design for pleasure, arousal and self-healing.

Laura-Doe has recently launching her crowdfunding campaign asking supporters, sex-positive community and friends alike to contribute towards the post-production, manufacture and distribution of the movie.

Why do you think we need to talk about female arousal? Is it really that difficult?

No, it isn’t difficult really. The female body is elegantly designed for pleasure.

But the women who experience anything like the arousal that they are actually capable of are in quite a minority. Research in the US suggests that as many of 47 per cent of women suffer from what they are now calling Female Sexual Dysfunction.

Pharmaceutical companies have been pushing the creation of this ‘disorder’ so that they can develop the elusive Pink Viagra – a pill designed to ‘cure’ it. In my practice I see that education, not pills, will support most of my clients.

It is exactly because we don’t talk about women’s arousal that many of the issues arise.

One of the things we need to discuss is how different men and women are in the way they get turned on.

We also need to talk about the fact that there is no ‘one size fits all’ in the arousal game. What works for me one day may not work the next and it might never work for you.

We are all wonderfully unique, delicious beings, but if we don’t know our own bodies, it’s hard to expect someone else to.

Do people know enough about sex? Are we teaching it right yet?

I’ve been studying sexuality for more than 30 years but a lot of the information that has rocked my world and which appears in the documentary only became available in the past few years.

For instance, pioneering research into the true extent of the clitoris was undertaken in the late 90s by an Aussie urologist, Helen O’Connell.

She observed that surgeons took special care to avoid particular nerves and blood vessels in prostate surgery on men in order to preserve their sexual function. But sparing sexual function in women undergoing pelvic surgery was a matter of guesswork.

None of the available textbooks described the nerve or blood supply to the clitoris. She undertook to rectify the omission and in the process discovered a whole new understanding of that delightful organ.

MRI technology that now allows us to see what is happening in the brain during arousal has also only been available in the past decade.

I have found that having a map of how my body is designed for arousal helps me to feel even more pleasure than I already did.

There is an abundance of information and a lot of misinformation available that creates more confusion. The things they read about just make them feel more inadequate.

Sadly, owing to a lack of understanding about their own body’s arousal needs, many women have early experiences in which they weren’t turned on nearly enough.

Apart from being disappointing and uncomfortable, the sensitive tissue of the vagina quite literally checks out, becomes numb and women are left wondering what all the fuss is about.

As far as sex education in schools goes, in most places that is still sadly limited too – usually embarrassed discussions on how to prevent pregnancy and STIs.

Although these are important topics there is very little being taught about pleasure, the details of sexual experience and the joys and the journey of relating intimately with another human being.

Young people are looking to the internet to find answers to their natural questions about their burgeoning sexual interest and there they are bombarded by a multitude of images, very few of which give any information about female arousal.

What do you think are the stumbling blocks for western culture when it comes to addressing sexuality?

The curious cone of silence around genitals and sexuality that has been in place since the Victorian era has a lot to answer for. If we can’t talk about our pleasurable parts it makes it tricky finding out how to get them functioning optimally.

Add to that the legacy of guilt and shame that religion has bestowed upon us and you have a recipe for disaster.

What are you trying to achieve with your documentary?

I want to support people to have more fulfilling relationships. Dissatisfaction in the bedroom is one of the leading causes of relationship breakup, but by opening up the conversation and introducing accurate information I have seen profound changes in my clients’ relating.

I want to support women to connect with and feel the pleasure that their bodies are naturally capable of. Through self-love comes self-empowerment and let’s face it – when mamma’s happy, everyone’s happy!

How will the crowdfunding help?

We’ve done a huge amount on a tiny budget with a small but dedicated team, but to make sure the final product is professional in all aspects we need to get the big guns in now.

We need to master the audio, finalise post-production, author the DVD, create fabulous artwork, get the marketing just right and launch it with pizzazz. We want to empower as many people as possible with this information, supporting them to bring more pleasure into their lives and to create more satisfying intimate relationships.

I saw her there for the first time, & was amazed at how much of the latest research she & her team presented, as well as new areas to explore; so much previously known only to lucky Wise Women or serious investigators.

As one of my favourite subjects & life-long study, it is amazing how one’s own body is capable of developing & extending pleasure, & surprising with a huge range of differing responses. We are so much more than we know!

I applaud her desire to share with the sisters our birthright of joy, fun & sharing of education. Please support their cause.